


Not again

by Maeve_Lynn



Series: Valentine's Day 2021 [4]
Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: "there was only one bed" trope, Angst, But it became angst, Hurt/Comfort, I wanted fluff, Injury, Love, M/M, Then it turned to Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:08:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29443116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maeve_Lynn/pseuds/Maeve_Lynn
Summary: Halt and Crowley escaped from the enemy, yet with Halt being injured, they should find a shelter. After a while, they find a village with an inn, but the innkeeper doesn't seem to understand what Crowley means.
Relationships: Crowley Meratyn/Halt O'Carrick
Series: Valentine's Day 2021 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2164947
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	Not again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [and_crowley_lives1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/and_crowley_lives1/gifts).



> Another Cralt fic, yet for some reason it turned into angst rather than fluff, so I decided to make it hurt/comfort. Althought it's not that much angst as it looks like.  
> I hope you'll enjoy the fic ^^

“HALT!”

The scream filled the clearance and the few bandits that were still alive rushed to the source.

“Don’t let them escape! If we capture them, Lord Morgarath will be very pleased!”

The young Commandant hurried to his friend, examining if he was still breathing.

“G… go a-away,” the man mumbled, his voice weak from the amount of blood he lost. The plan, in which Halt would take the role of bait, went terribly wrong as they had underestimated their enemy. After Halt had knocked down one of them, he got surprised by another one and while he was trying his best to keep the man out of his reach, a third bandit swung his sword and hit Halt’s side.

Falling down on his knees, he could barely call out the red-haired Ranger’s name before collapsing.

Whistling to get their horses at the place, Crowley made sure to protect Halt. He managed to scare some enemies away by shooting arrows in their direction. Looking over his shoulder to see if their four-legged helpers had arrived, he recognized the hoof steps of Abelard and Cropper. Once they stopped next to him, he lifted the wounded Ranger onto Cropper’s saddle, mounted and sat behind him, holding Halt steady while they ran away.

They had been riding for a few hours when they finally had arrived at the village. It was already getting dark as the sun set down behind the hills. Scanning the environment, there was no one to be seen, only a few farmers who headed to their farms after a long day of working in the fields. Waving their neighbours good bye, they didn’t pay attention to the two lonely riders that rode into the village.

“Which way was it again?” Crowley asked, not familiar with the environment. The darkness made it difficult to see well and hadn’t they changed some things as well? It didn’t look the same as in his memory.

“To the right, then left and at the end of the street a sharp turn to the left and then it should be at our right hands,” Halt said, his voice barely more than a whisper.

“Let’s get you quickly inside then, before it’s too dark.”

In a slow pace, they continued their way and after a minute or five, they arrived at the inn.

Sliding out of their saddles, Crowley led their horses into the stable and took their bags. With some support, Halt managed to make it to the front door. Inside, they could hear how men were laughing and chanting songs.

“To them it’s as if there’s no danger,” Crowley pointed out, not really sure what to think of it.

To him, it was quite unrealistic that, in these times, people were so cheerful and acting as if there wasn’t anything wrong.

“Or maybe they’re to forget the pain for a day,” Halt huffed, holding his right hand over his left side. The bleeding had stopped some time ago now, but it was still pretty uncomfortable.

Crowley thought about that answer for a moment, before shrugging and opening the door. They were welcomed by the warmth of the fireplace and of the men, as well as the lovely smell of the dishes that were served that evening. Some men lifted up their heads to look at the newcomers, but most of them didn’t pay any attention to the Rangers.

The cloaked men walked to the desk and waited for the innkeeper. It took a while before he showed up, but eventually a tall, muscular man appeared from behind a separated part. Probably his own house, Crowley thought.

“Good evening gentlemen, how can I help you?”

“We would like to rent a room for the night,” the redhead said, still supporting Halt who was becoming heavier by the second.

“I see,” the innkeeper slowly replied, his gaze going from one to the other man. Looking at their uniform and weapons, they were most likely Rangers and they normally didn’t cause any trouble, but with the searching troops outside, he wanted to be sure there wouldn’t any problems. Shifting his gaze to the shorter one, he saw he wouldn’t be able to do anything. He looked pale and a huge spot could be seen on his tunic.

“Alright, you may stay but one complaint and you’re both outside again, understood?” he said while handing a key to Crowley.

“Of course, we’ll be as calm as lambs,” the Commandant replied, taking the key in his free hand and heading to the stairs.

As soon as they were out of hearing distance, the innkeeper shook his head and mumbled some complaints about Rangers being dark wizards to his wife, who hinted that he shouldn’t say such things if he didn’t want any problems.

It had taken a lot of effort, but they were now standing in front of their bedroom door. Putting and turning the key in the keyhole, Crowley opened the door and stepped inside. The room was small and didn’t had a lot of furniture, only a desk, a chair-

“There’s only one bed.”

A bit surprised, the Araluen Ranger looked at his friend.

“Ahw, back in the land of the living Halt?”

He got one nasty glance and helped his friend to sit on the bed.

“Now, let’s have a look at your ‘injury’, shall we?”

At the time that Crowley got his bag, Halt took off his belt and scabbard and then pulled his tunic over his head.

“This stain will never get out of the fabric,” he complained, but there wasn’t time for that as his friend pushed him down.

“Lay still, I need to see how much he sliced the leather water bottle and not you.”

Gently, he took the water bottle away and then examined Halt’s side. In the little light of the candle, he could barely see it, but to his relief the other man wasn’t too injured.

“Seems like it’s just a scratch, not so bad I’d say.”

“Not so bad?” Halt offendedly demanded. “I’m sorry, but a bit more compassion would be nice. It got almost split in two!”

Not to his surprise, his friend grinned.

“Now Halt, don’t complain, you got the shortest straw and therefore you played the bait and I was the saviour.”

“The saviour? You were barely on time to knock out that bandit and save me! How can you call yourself a saviour then?”

Crouching in front of him, the Ranger put a bandage around Halt’s waist, subtly touching his skin a couple of times. As trained as he was, Crowley noticed it.

“See? You don’t hate me, you still love me, admit it.” He locked his eyes on the grumpy face and smiled. “I bet that after a good night you’ll feel much better and not so grumpy and short tempered anymore.”

Crowley walked once again to his saddle bag and took out his nightclothes as well as Halt’s. In front of him, he dressed up, knowing well that someone was now blushing upon seeing him shirtless, yet he acted as if he didn’t know. Then, he helped the injured man and prepared himself for bed.

“What do you think you’re doing? You won’t sleep in the bed, I will. I honestly don’t understand why the man gave us this room and not one with two beds.”

As Crowley remained silent, he become more and more wary, until he eventually got it.

“Wait a minute, what exactly did you say to that man?”

If he hadn’t been smiling the last couple of minutes, he was now smirking.

“You heard what I said downstairs, you were there too and I have to admit, your acting skills have improved a lot since the last time.”

But Halt was shaking his head vigorously.

“No, that wasn’t acting, I truly didn’t know what you said. So, tell me your exact words.”

“Only if you will let me sleep in the bed next to you and not on the floor.”

Not in the mood to play along with the game, he gave in and laid next to his friend. Underneath the blankets, they huddled closer and Halt felt Crowley’s strong arms around his waist, making him blush.

Seeing how he gave up, the taller Ranger gave him a kiss on his cheek.

“Well, my dear Halt, I told him we wanted to rent a room for the night. That’s all, I swear it on my hazel eyes.”

To be sure he wasn’t lying or keeping words behind, Halt stared at him for a while.

“But if he saw we were with two, then why-” he shut up as realisation drew over him. Now he got why Crowley was grinning all the time and not minding at all that there was only one bed.

“Damned innkeeper,” Halt mumbled, although it wasn’t as bad as he made it look like.


End file.
